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The Department of English Presents Target of Excellence Candidate Target of Excellence Candidate Department of English Richard T. Rodriguez University of Illinois, Urbana‐Champaign Oedipal Wrecks: Kin and Kind in JusƟn Torres’s We the Animals
Abstract: This talk cri cally assesses Jus n Torres’s We the Animals by drawing from the insights of recent work in queer and animal studies. Ascertaining the func on of “non‐Oedipal animals,” the talk illustrates the two‐pronged func on of the novel for disrup ng both conven onal kinship narra ves and hetero‐ and homonorma ve appraisals of sexuality. For despite the mainstream embrace of Torres’s debut book that predictably reads the family from a common frame and the easy tendency to comprehend the text’s sense of “animality” from a surface level metaphorical trajectory, the talk argues that the mul tude of species in Torres’s human‐animal kingdom signify an array of queer sexual prac ces and subjec vi es that take seriously the risk of desire, exclusion and belonging. Monday, May 4th 3:15pm‐4:30pm English Conference Room: HMNSS 2212 RecepƟon and light refreshments at conclusion of talk